Pandemic puts all eyes on public health

Covid-19 has exposed the weak spots of the US public health system — and that presents an opportunity, says an epidemiologist, for the nation to recognize the problems and act to fix them

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public-health coronavirus society qa health-disease reset special-report-reset

Evolution of the US public health system

TIMELINE: From colonial efforts to control smallpox outbreaks to antimalarial campaigns targeting mosquitoes, the American effort grew for centuries. But cutbacks have weakened it in the past decades.

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public-health coronavirus society health-disease reset special-report-reset

I got the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. Or maybe not.

OPINION: Many Americans say they won’t take a vaccine. I am not one of them — and I have the shots to prove it.

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public-health coronavirus society health-disease reset opinion special-report-reset

Covid stole my Dad’s final months

OPINION: Because of the pandemic, I couldn’t visit him in his nursing home, and because of his dementia he couldn’t understand why. Mismanagement of this crisis has failed the elderly and caused incalculable hurt.

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coronavirus aging society health-disease the-mind reset opinion special-report-reset

Scratching away: The complexities of chronic itch

Itching has myriad causes and mechanisms, many of which remain elusive. Scientists are making headway on parsing its biological underpinnings, in hope of better treatments.

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health-disease living-world

It’s not just the germs — it’s also the genes

Pathogens can make us sick. Just how sick depends on genetic variations, including ones that sabotage immune molecules called interferons. A better understanding could lead to new treatments for Covid-19 and other scourges.

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genetics coronavirus health-disease reset special-report-reset

7 ways to fix this pandemic — and stop the next one

OPINION: Experts predict another nearly 180,000 deaths by February. It doesn’t have to be that way, writes health security expert Eric Toner.

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coronavirus society health-disease reset opinion

Wanted: Online gamers to help build a more stable Covid-19 vaccine

People beat artificial intelligence hands-down at puzzling out new ways to fold molecules for a potential SARS-Cov-2 immunization. Thousands more players are needed.

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health-disease reset

The mysterious, multifaceted cerebellum

Once thought to merely coordinate movement, this region of the brain is proving to exert greater influence on cognition, emotion and other functions

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health-disease living-world the-mind

Viruses that come to stay

Some linger in the body for a lifetime. The one causing Covid-19 probably isn’t one of them, but it and others can create mischief long after the immune system appears to have banished them.

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coronavirus health-disease